When shooting firearms, especially in stressful tactical situations, it is important that the firearm be maintained in a steady, stable position to insure accuracy of aim. Most shooters are not able to hold a firearm consistently in a set position without wavering, especially after the onset of fatigue resulting from strain on the shooter due to the size and weight of the firearm.
Accordingly, peripheral support devices have been used in conjunction with firearms since the early creation of firearms as a means of stabilizing a firearm to reduce vibration, wavering, etc., and to improve accuracy.
In the past, shooters have used everything from large stationary objects such as rocks and tree branches to forked sticks, shooting slings, bipods and tripods. Early bipod and tripod supports typically were somewhat crude strands that generally were bulky, inconvenient and difficult to use and typically were not easily adjustable. In more recent times, bipod supports have been developed that are compact and relatively lightweight and are mountable to the forearm stock of a firearm, such as a rifle, to make the bipods portable with the firearm. Most conventional bipod supports include a pair of legs that can be pivoted from an up position adjacent the firearm stock, to a down position engaging a support surface, with the legs also being extensible to adjust the height of the support.
A problem with conventional bipods has been the inability to mount such bipods to most firearms without requiring the use of special mounting tools and/or the machining or modification of the firearm stock to accommodate the bipod. Additionally, most bipods are not designed for quick and easy attachment and release of the bipod from the firearm stock. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,678 discloses a bipod assembly that includes legs that are pivotable independently of one another for ease of adjustment, but the assembly is not easily attached or detached from the firearm. Other types of conventional bipods offer mountings that can be fitted to various types of rifles without requiring modification or machining of the rifle stock. For example, Harris Engineering, Inc. manufactures a series of bipod mounts for use with a variety of different firearms without modifying them; however, these bipod mounts do not provide for a quick release of an attached bipod support from the firearm.
One of the most popular bipods on the market has been the Parker-Hale bipod assembly, which includes a pair of telescoping legs attached to a mounting frame, and a mounting block for mounting the bipod to the firearm. The mounting block of the Parker-Hale bipod is releasably attached to the mounting frame of the bipod to enable quick attachment or release of the legs of the bipod from the firearm, but the problem with this bipod is that to mount it to a firearm, the forearm stock of the firearm generally must be modified to mount a track or slide, along which the mounting block is received to mount the bipod to the firearm. Such stock modifications generally are expensive, often must be done by specialty gunsmiths, and can mar the finish of the firearm.
Military or police shooters using military or SWAT rifles often carry special mounts known as MIL-STD-1913 “picatinny” rails under the rifle forearm; such rails are customarily used for mounting grenade launchers, lights or other accessories, so the rifles often weigh much more than the lighter sporting arms most shooters are used to carrying. Clamping objects to forearm mounted picatinny rails is usually a lengthy, cumbersome process requiring that the shooter juggle small parts in the field.
Prior art bipods which can be attached to a rifle's forearm clamping surfaces have typically attached to a rail structure that runs along the bottom of the handgrip and is parallel to the axis of the rifle's bore, to place the bipod in the traditional “below the barrel” orientation. While this below the barrel orientation is useful in many situations, it does not provide a stable support for the rifle's weight, which is above the bipod's leg-supporting hinge, so the rifle may produce a falling or leaning moment of inertia.
Accordingly, a need exists for a bipod mounting device for selectively attaching a bipod to a firearm, and in particular to a firearm adapted for use in military or SWAT situations, where the shooter may, for precision aiming, wish to have a stable support. Ideally, the attachment should not require extensive modification to the firearm, such as machining of the forearm stock of the firearm. Preferably, a mounting device would also enable quick and easy attachment and detachment of the bipod (or other accessory) to the firearm, and minimize the risks associated with a falling or leaning moment of inertia, as may occur when the rifle's barrel carries the bipod on a bottom mounted picatinny rail.